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Is this your chapter?

I frequently have had excellent perspective chapter members mention to me, when approached for chapter affiliation, that they don't want to hang around angry old men spouting right wing politics... or words to that effect. It is very sad that one or two personalities in a chapter has painted the whole of EAA. But there has to be a bit of truth in there somewhere.
Is this your chapter and what are you doing about it?

Hi, Jim; I think it's part of the "normal" cycle. We had quite a few, but they're advancing in age and not attending much anymore. Right now, we have the youngest chapter makeup I've known in my entire (gasp) 6 years with the chapter. Lots of 40 YO, plus some in their 20's. There is hope;

We have a pretty interesting mix in our chapter. Our chapter includes Los Alamos, NM (home of the Manhatten project and Los Alamos National Lab), and Santa Fe, NM (Home of many anti-nuke groups and a liberal bastion). The members of our chapter love aviation and airplanes. While I occasionally hear a political barb in either direction, for the most part, we are tolerant of each others beliefs and leave the politics for another time and place. As the chapter president, I won't allow political rants in the meetings. It's just not the right place for it. As diverse of a group as we have, politics has never been a problem as we work towards common goals in aviation. Wish the same could be said for our political leaders.

I guess we're a bit too Southern for the rudeness of political discourse in public beyond a bumper sticker.

We tend to have a few too many digression moments when going around the room before the official program for the meeting....but often they turn out to be more informative than the class (especially if I'm presenting). Though sometimes I go glassy-eyed at the tech speak.

We're an older chapter - I'm pushing 50 and am one of the young ones - but that's okay, too, as I get to sponge off of a whole lot of experience and know-how.

The opinions and statements of this poster are largely based on facts and portray a possible version of the actual events.

I frequently have had excellent perspective chapter members mention to me, when approached for chapter affiliation, that they don't want to hang around angry old men spouting right wing politics... or words to that effect. It is very sad that one or two personalities in a chapter has painted the whole of EAA. But there has to be a bit of truth in there somewhere.
Is this your chapter and what are you doing about it?

BTW - I checked membership and did not find Glenn Beck listed but may have found his brother.

It definitely sounds like one of the chapters here. The other is effectively dead so I do not think there is much else to say about them. I get enough paranoid xenophobic conspiracy pseudo-conservative BS from my fiancee's parents so I definitely do not want it from a chapter. That is one reason I am looking into forming another chapter.

Unfortunately in science what you believe is irrelevant.

"I'm an old-fashioned Southern Gentleman. Which means I can be a cast-iron son-of-a-***** when I want to be."- Robert A. Heinlein.

Winston Churchill may not have said it first, but people THINK he said:

“If you're not a liberal at twenty you have no heart, if you're not a conservative at forty you have no brain.”

and if you add those ages together, you get what we have now. disillusioned old men who know our hearts are no longer strong enough to provide oxygen to our brains. so keep smiling and recruiting younger members!

Steveinindy: I have thought about doing the same thing. I long for a club that has active members that do more then talk. I ran into a friend at the Safety Seminar that was held here in Springfield a few months ago. He told me his chapter meets outside and that they have only 2 or 3 members today. They really do nothing but hold a breakfast every now and then. I mentioned I wanted to join and he gave me every reason he could think of why I should not join.

These folks, are a few friends whom do not want an "outsider" coming in, unless its one of their buds, then they are welcome. Its a Midwest type of thinking. I have lived a lot of places in this country and see the way people in the Midwest think. I call it a "Clickish" state of mind. If you are not in the "Click" with these folks they do not want to even know you. And God forbid if you ever did anything they have not.

Steveinindy: I have thought about doing the same thing. I long for a club that has active members that do more then talk. I ran into a friend at the Safety Seminar that was held here in Springfield a few months ago. He told me his chapter meets outside and that they have only 2 or 3 members today. They really do nothing but hold a breakfast every now and then. I mentioned I wanted to join and he gave me every reason he could think of why I should not join.

I caught grief from BOTH of the local chapters about the fact that I am actually designing my own aircraft rather than assembling a kit. Apparently the fact that I want something specific and different makes me persona non grata. I would like to have a chapter that is geared more towards design and advancing the state of the art instead of copying existing designs like a religious zealot.

Winston Churchill may not have said it first, but people THINK he said:

“If you're not a liberal at twenty you have no heart, if you're not a conservative at forty you have no brain.”

I've got beliefs that fall on both sides. If you find yourself agreeing entirely with one party or the other, you're probably not thinking things through.

Remember Churchill was an alcoholic...a very smart alcoholic but still...

Unfortunately in science what you believe is irrelevant.

"I'm an old-fashioned Southern Gentleman. Which means I can be a cast-iron son-of-a-***** when I want to be."- Robert A. Heinlein.

......This is in response to the OP........I believe as we get older we get more vocal about things for we have seen a lot and do not like what we see coming. I remember when I was a young boy listening to the older men bitch about this and that changing and thinking to myself...I bet every generation does this for they do not like the change they see happening. There is a time to bitch about this and that but at the club is not one. There should be a sign above every chapters door saying....Leave your politics at home...We are here to have...FUN....Also no club should have to vote on a member, it should be join if you want to join we welcome all...